Courage
by smart grid
Summary: Evil unlike any Equestria has ever seen has come to the Everfree, and through proximity, Ponyville. The Mane 6 must attempt to overcome the darkness they are faced with; it will not be easy. But they will not face such evil alone. The Hero has come. A Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and MLP crossover.
1. Prologue

_The Everfree Forest._

_For ponykind, it is a source of mystery and danger, an untamable wilderness that stretches for miles and miles. It is full of many dangerous beasts; hydras, manticores, and even the occasional dragon have called the Everfree 'home' over its existence, welcomed into the green depths with open arms. Few ponies or other creatures of civilization have ever called it home; the perils of the depths appeal to few._

_It has resisted all attempts to tame it over years longer than many could count; the weather there will never be regulated by Pegasi, the plants never tended by even the bravest of earth ponies. The magic of the unicorns is inadequate, like a single candle trying to light a mansion in the dead of a moonless night. The immortal gods themselves, the Sun and Moon, have tried to tame or conquer the forest; the ruins of the last attempts to civilize the Everfree lie broken and abandoned, slowly being reclaimed by trees and animals. Even Chaos has found itself stymied, for all the power and potency it possesses._

_And the Everfree has power, greater than any know. The Sun and Moon have some inkling of this. They have even used it to their advantage in their immortal lives, for the forest provided safe haven when they were young and the evil of Tartarus roamed the world, for while the Everfree is no stranger to death, it does repel evil. And when Chaos reigned and brought their first attempts at civilization crashing back to the ground, they and their mortal charges fled to the Everfree, where Chaos could not harm them. This relative safety led to the attempt to control the great forest; ponies, at the command of their immortal gods, split wood and stone to create a safe haven within the dangerous jungle. But it was not to last. For while the strange magic offers safety from evil, it also abhors civilization. The homes came under siege from nature itself, and despite the efforts of even the greatest mages, or even the Sun and Moon themselves, it was a lost cause._

_No pony knows how, or why, any of this is; even the immortal gods of this realm have long since stopped their questioning and have accepted that the forest will never be tamed, or conquered, or even answer their questions. It has existed for longer than recorded pony history, and it will likely remain until the stars themselves succumb to time. It has been, and always will be, ever free._

_Deep within the forest is a spring, clear as glass, with a small, sandy island in the middle. Large and deep enough to swim in, it feeds a small waterfall that leads to a stream. Fish dart around in the spring, feeding off the algae and insects. Peace reigns upon its shores, and even the hungriest manticore will gently help a newborn foal to drink from its cooling water. The Sun and Moon know of it, though they do not grasp the significance of the spring; they sheltered there when they were young, when demons and monstrosities roamed the earth, for at the banks of the spring, there are no predators, or prey. Just equals, great and small._

_Today was not so peaceful, for the first time in centuries longer than a mortal can count. The forest was silent, not so much as a bird chirping. Something was wrong, and every creature in the Everfree knew it._

_Every creature in the forest feared it._

_Darkness began to creep towards the pool, even with the sun high in the sky. Movement came from within the shadows- large, gangly creatures with heads as flat as a sheet of paper, with hands, not hooves, on the ends of their forelegs. Arcane lines were painted onto the skin, but the pattern in the center of their chest and back glowed a malevolent red. They moved slowly, with purpose and utter confidence towards the spring._

_The pool glowed a brilliant white, as though lit by an inner sun. From the sandy island in the center, a glowing white ball rose into the air, where it stayed momentarily. From behind the island, an ethereal creature leaped up and seized the ball, cradling it protectively._

_It was a hodgepodge mix of many animals. Its head and front were that of a pony of unusual size, with a horn sprouting from its head. The forelegs were also that of a pony, the hooves cradling the ball protectively to its underbelly. On its back, a pair of glowing bat wings sprouted, wrapped protectively around the ball. Its rear legs were that of a lion, and instead of a tail a wicked-looking stinger arched up._

_The creature eyed the dark gangly ones that looked on impassively at the shores of the spring. As one, they began to wade into the spring, heading for the island in the middle, and the guardian of the ball of light._

_A scream was heard as the ball was torn from the guardian, a scream that pierced the very fabric of the world. It faded, the guardian becoming nothing more than a dimly glowing star as the pool returned to its normal watery state._

_The dark creatures, clutching the stolen treasure, each plunged a long arm into the very heart of the ball. It turned black and hardened, then burst into many pieces. Each piece became an insect, larger than a pony's hoof, sparking with energy. The black insects spread their wings and flew, heading away from the spring._

_In the Everfree and the lands closest to it, the twilight fell like a veil._


	2. It Begins

Applejack trotted through the trees of her farm, blissful and happy in the beautiful afternoon. The apple trees around her were in full bloom, a result of plenty of water from the weather team and the encouragement that Applejack and her family, as earth ponies, provided. Her nose twitched, smelling the scents of her beloved apple trees as she continued her brisk trot through the orchard.

Farm life was unique. During harvests, the pace was breakneck as the family tried to harvest their produce and livelihood; working until past nightfall only to rise before Celestia's sun the next morning was common during those times. But in the spring, when their apples had yet to bloom, the pace was far more sedate; there were chores, slopping the pigs, talking to Betsy and the other cows, and there was maintenance work to be done, certainly, but a farmer had free time after all was said and done. To that end, Applejack chose to spend her time today among her trees, checking for parasites and other bad signs ostensibly but really just enjoying the rare time she had off.

A flash of color brought a grin to her face and a change in direction. A few seconds later she stopped, standing below a chromatic spectrum of color made of hair. Following said tail hair up to the body, the apple farmer beheld a particularly familiar sight; a rainbow-maned cyan-blue pegasus, sprawled between the branches of one of her apple trees like a cat. And also like a cat, she was napping, her eyes closed as her hooves and wings twitched.

Rainbow Dash was the laziest pegasus Applejack had ever known. Laziness was not something that Applejack had ever really approved of- hard work was the only thing that kept a farm afloat, and so it was hard work that Applejack respected. Still, that being said, the pegasus was a good friend, and after spending time around her Applejack had come to realize that Dash worked hard when she was motivated, and that there was never a more true or loyal friend.

Still, on a day like today, something deep in Applejack told her that her good friend had the right idea. Just lie down, take a nice little nap, and let the world go by. It wasn't something she would ever admit to doing, lest others believe that she was just as lazy as her layabout friend. But it also was necessary sometimes to stop and smell the flowers. On a day like this, with her chores done and no place to be until supper, it would be nice to sit and watch the world go by.

Sitting down and leaning back against the tree, Applejack tilted her Pappy's hat down over her eyes so she could grab a little shuteye too.

* * *

Fluttershy smiled softly as the family of squirrels gathered around their late lunch. Helping animals was something she would never tire of; all life was precious, even the smallest of little fuzzy creatures. Her cutie mark attested to her passion, a talent only surpassed by her unique ability to understand the creatures around her.

The pink-maned, butter-yellow pegasus loved animals because they were uncomplicated. Ponies were nice, but there were so many things and social rules that had to be followed, and she always came off embarrassed and worried that everyone could see everything she did wrong. Animals were different. They did not judge, they did not make snide comments behind your back, they did not tease you about how you couldn't fly; no, if you gave them love and respect, then they gave you unconditional love in return. It was simple.

Not that she didn't have pony friends, oh no. Rainbow Dash had always been her friend since Flight School. More recently, four other mares had come into her life, Twilight Sparkle the Princess's Protégé/Librarian, Rarity the Dressmaker, Applejack the Farmer, and Pinkie Pie the Party Pony/Confectioner. Fluttershy did not know how she had ended up with so many friends, but she would do anything for them. Still, her job, and indeed her passion, were animals. There was only one other place she would rather be than watch the family of squirrels daintily eat the assorted nuts she had set out for the, and that one place would be with her friends.

The squirrels before her scattered without warning. Alarmed, Fluttershy flared her wings and looked around for what/who had startled them. When she looked immediately behind her, she jumped ten feet into the air and into a tree with a shriek.

Below her was a contrite-looking manticore. He gave a few soft meows. Fluttershy sighed, then flared her wings as she dropped back to the ground, landing gracefully.

"Mr. Manticore, I know you're sorry, but please don't do that again," she told him softly. Mr. Manticore was not often seen by Fluttershy. He was very much a wild animal, and a predator as well, and much preferred to live as nature intended deep in the Everfree forest. Still, after the debacle with Nightmare Moon and the thorn that Fluttershy had removed, he had been open to visits from the demure pegasus. It wasn't often, but he occasionally sought her out if he had injuries or if he felt like it. She was hoping to convince him to come more often, and perhaps go on an all-fish diet so that her little critter friends wouldn't be scared of him, but such things had not happened yet. She had to be patient with him to win him over. The manticore yowled softly at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Fluttershy hadn't sensed anything wrong. He yowled at her again, before ending in a pathetic mewling that in no way befitted a fearsome predator of the jungle. Fluttershy then noticed that Mr. Manticore, one of the more fearsome predators of the Everfree forest, was shaking like a leaf.

"Wh… whha… what do you mean?" she stammered out. A short meow answered her. Fluttershy's wings clamped to her sides as her eyes went wide in understanding… and horror.

"Ohhhhhh dear… oh dear… ohdearohdearohdearohdear-"

She was cut off by a scream that seemed to tear reality itself. Before her very eyes, the world changed. All Fluttershy could do was look on, wide-eyed, as Mr. Manticore collapsed in a trembling heap and the very reality of the world around her shifted sideways.

* * *

Something roused Applejack's consciousness from its drowsy state. Without opening her eyes, the mare tried to divine what it was that had forced her from near-sleep to fully awake.

_Not sound, not touch…. Sight?_

Her eyelids were no longer light, meaning it had gotten dark.

_Ah swear ah hadn't even got t' sleep…_

Applejack opened her eyes under hat, confirming that it was, indeed dark out. Pushing her hat up, she saw more. Something wrong. She shot to her hooves.

There was no moon or stars, like Princess Luna's night. There was no sun, like Celestia's day. It was both, yet neither, a darkness that was not complete, a light that was not bright. The world seemed… greyer as well, less colorful than before. But what really got her attention was the wall.

It towered from the ground to as far up as the eye could see, a black mass with what looked to be glowing red glyphs inscribed into it. It was all around, as far as she could see, extending well into the distance around the Everfree and around Ponyville as well.

This was not good.

"Rainbow, wake up!"

"SSNNNKKTtt huh…" the Pegasus trailed off as she shifted. Applejack didn't try to wake her with words again, the layabout wouldn't do anything to disturb her nap until it was necessary. No, time to get her out of that tree the old fashioned way. Applejack cocked her legs and bucked.

"HHHHSSSSS Ouch that buckin' hurt!"

Applejack lay on the ground as her hind legs ached painfully from hitting them against a tree. Normally, such an action would have caused ripened fruit, or in this case, napping pegasi, to fall from said trees, but for some reason that didn't happen this time. It had also hurt. A lot. As Applejack rose gingerly to her hooves, she decided against trying again. Probably some voodoo magic that the great wall and scenery change had brought with it, either way she wasn't ready to try bucking a tree again quite yet.

Still, she had to get that lazy Pegasus out of that tree. Applejack eyed the muted rainbow tail, and after a moment of intense contemplation, jumped.

"huh WAAAAAAA ooof!" The cyan Pegasus fell out of the tree with all the grace of a brick.

"Applejack! What the hay!? That was NOT cool!" she scolded as she got to her hooves.

"Ain't time t' be nappin', Rainbow. We got a problem on our hooves."

"Problem? What are you talking abou…." Now that she was up, Rainbow saw what her friend was talking about.

"What… the… buck…"

"Ah know. C'mon, we gotta get-"

A scream pierced their thoughts, the high pitched scream of a filly. It was joined by two others.

"Applebloom!" Applejack cried out. She took off towards the Crusader's clubhouse, where her younger sister and her two friends had been enjoying the day.

Rainbow Dash instinctively flapped her powerful wings, to get to the younger ponies as fast as she could. But she wasn't in the air. She flapped again, harder, and rose perhaps a hoof off the ground. She couldn't hover, she couldn't fly for some reason.

Rainbow almost started to panic. Her wings were an inescapable part of her very being, to have such skills inexplicably useless left her nearly in shock. Only one thought stopped her from outright breaking down and crying in terror. Her friends still needed her. Applejack needed her. After one more fruitless flap, she took off after her best friend on the ground, uttering something she never thought she would ever have to say.

"Applejack! Wait up!"

* * *

Inside a tree in the center of Ponyville, a certain lavender-coated unicorn was doing what Rainbow managed to avoid: panicking.

"It's not working!" she cried out in confusion and fear. She tried again to lift the book sitting on the floor in front of her, and once again she felt no magic, saw no horn flare. She sat down heavily on her flank.

"This… this can't be happening! First the Sun disappears, but the Moon and stars don't rise, then magic goes away? It's impossible! SPIKE! SSSSPPPPIIIKKKEE!"

A small, bipedal, purple-scaled and green-spined dragon ran into the room. In his little hands he held a scroll of parchment and a feather quill.

"Ready!" he saluted. Twilight swallowed and took a deep breath before she started to dictate to her number one assistant.

_Princess Celestia,_

_Something has happened in Ponyville, something disastrous I fear. Even as I write I can see the town panicking, and beyond I can see the black wall that has surrounded our town. I have no doubt that you can see it from the castle in Canterlot. Worse still is the loss of magic- I am unable to lift even the slimmest of papers with my levitation, and based on my observations of the other ponies out the window, and those in the library when the event occurred, I have no doubt that this has happened to every pony encompassed by these walls._

_Looking at the sky, I cannot see either the Sun or the Moon in the sky- only a murky type of twilight, neither light nor dark. It scares me, but the implications scare me more. I only hope I am wrong._

_Please, send help._

_Your faithful student,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

"….. Twi-light Spark-le!" Spike finished. He took a deep breath, then blew on the now rolled up parchment.

But there was no flame, no magical sending spell. Only a piece of parchment, still in one purple claw, now bent from the force of his blow. Spike coughed.

"Heh, sorry Twilight. Must have forgotten… somehow… let me try again!"

Another blow, harder even than last time, but there was still no flame. No sending spell. Only a bent and now slightly damp piece of parchment, holding their one and only hope for outside help.

Twilight's pupils contracted to pinpricks as both she and Spike stared at the piece of parchment in shock and despair.

* * *

Celestia felt the disturbance immediately. It was her connection to the Sun; somewhere on Equestria, the Sun was blocked; she could feel it. Despite the implications, she remained calm. Centuries of self-control and discipline squashed the panic before it even fully formed; indeed, to her subjects in the Court, it appeared as only a minor twitch and a falter in the smile of their benevolent idol. She even finished listening to the plea of the pony before her, a farmer who had come to tell her of a particularly insidious loophole in her property laws that the nobility was now using to swindle him out of his farm and livelihood. Celestia nodded graciously, as expected of her, as the farmer finished.

"Thank you, Corn Husk, I will look into this matter immediately," she said with a regal smile. The golden pony with tan hair bowed before turning and leaving. Before the next petitioner could be announced, Celestia made her move.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am afraid I must cancel court for the rest of the day. All petitioners in line will be accommodated in the Royal Suites. Notary Scribe, please tell the Captain to arrange the accommodations. I am afraid I must take my leave," she told her secretary.

She was out the door before the announcement was finished. It would have taken a practiced eye, one that would have taken more years than a mortal had, to notice the slight increase in her gait as she headed for her sister's room.

The doors to Luna's bedroom were ornate; hoofcrafted by the most exquisite artisans from the past one thousand years, they were as ornate as the doors that lead to the throne room itself. Celestia had never had a desire to have such ornate doors, she was far more simple, but she knew her sister well- presentation was everything to Luna. Show; theatre; perception; such things, while utterly lost upon Celestia, were practically second nature to her younger sister. The doors were important to her younger sister; a piece of her image as _**Princess**__ Luna Immortalis Noctum_, diarchic of the great state of Equestria.

Celestia slammed them against their stops.

Luna was already awake, likely for the same reason that Celestia had cancelled court.

"Sister, what hath happened?!" A recently awakened Luna, complete with sleeping mask hiked up over her horn, was the sight that greeted _**Princess**__ Celestia Solaria Invictā_.

"I do not know, Luna. But whatever it is, it was enough to rouse you from your slumber," noted with some amusement. She raised the blinds to her sisters bedroom- only to frown. "I do believe I have found the source."

Luna, now out of her sumptuous bed and slightly awake, saw what her sister had revealed- her pupils expanded in awe and fear.

"Sister, what is this sorcery? If this is one of thou's tricks…" she warned.

"No, Luna. This is not a trick. There really is a great black wall in the southeast of our kingdom- and no explanation as to why it is there…."


	3. Eternal Twilight

Just outside the city limits of Ponyville, the great black wall stood, rippling slightly as though it were made of liquid instead of stone. The red arcane lines glowed brightly at times, but in the sunlight they appeared dimmed and diminished.

Celestia and Luna stood before the wall, both horns aglow with golden and blue light as they inspected the barrier. Around them, guards milled about, conducting their own investigations or tending to the Royal Chariot, waiting upon their rulers. Celestia sighed as she let her spell go, shaking her head.

"I have never seen magic such as this before," she told her sister quietly.

"Nor have We," Luna replied absently, her horn still ablaze with magic. "But… there is something familiar here, sister…"

"What do you mean, Luna?"

Luna extinguished her horn. "We- I, cannot put my hoof on it," she confessed. "But.. it feels…familiar, like We- I have felt it before… but not?"

Celestia lit her horn and magically examined the wall again, attempting to see what her sister saw. She 'felt' the magic… and Luna was right, now that she was looking for it… the magic was all at once familiar, and yet not. Like an old friend you had not seen for many years.

"You are correct," she said, puzzled.

While Celestia and Luna debated among themselves, a young pegasus guard by the name of Wind Waker landed near the wall. Curious about the flowing nature of the monolith before him, he gave it a poke with one hoof, and watched, fascinated, as the black wall rippled from his touch.

"Don't touch it, Wind!" his wingpartner, Storm Wall, hissed at him.

Wind Waker was about to respond when a giant black hand grabbed him by the throat, cutting off his response and his air.

"Princess!" Storm Wall cried out.

The Princesses, and indeed the entire guard detachment, whipped their heads around just fast enough to catch a glimpse of a monstrous black hand pulling Wind Waker through the wall as though it was a sheet of water. Storm Wall dove, but was too late to do anything more than grasp at his wingpartners' tailhairs.

"Wind Waker!" he cried out, beating his hooves against the great black wall.

"Private, GET BACK!" the Guard Captain shouted.

A golden glow enveloped the pegasus, yanking him backwards. Moments later, a black hand, thin, long, and fast, whipped out of the wall right where Storm Wall had been, grasping at air. It retreated just as quickly.

A heartbeat later, a lightning discharge that Luna had unleashed hit the same spot, scouring and blackening the ground but doing nothing more than splashing harmlessly off the wall itself.

"Captain, cordon off the wall. All of it. Do whatever it takes, but nopony is allowed to go within fifty feet of this wall without permission from Luna or myself," Celestia ordered, her voice hard as she trotted over. The Captain saluted and began barking orders to his men.

Celestia coolly eyed the wall, now smooth and nondescript, as though nothing had ever happened. Beside her, though, Luna fumed.

"Ponyville is lost, now it hath kidnapped one of Our Guards!" she glared. "We cannot let this pass unanswered!"

"How, Luna?" Celestia mused. "You said it yourself- it is impenetrable. It would likely exhaust both of us just to open a small breach. Though apparently, one can be… invited… in."

"We cannot do nothing, Sister!"

"No. But neither can we act without information. We must wait until the wall has been thoroughly examined and a weakness identified. But for now, Wind Waker, and all of Ponyville, are on their own."

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Rainbow Dash to catch up- she was too awesome, even grounded, to be outrun by anypony, even Applejack!- and together the two ponies barreled down the path towards the Crusader Clubhouse, where Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle had been working on their next plan to get their cutie mark. The screams only grew louder as they reached their destination. Applejack was the first there, and the first to ascend the ramp and barrel into the clubhouse, followed closely by Dash.

Inside the clubhouse, three young fillies cowered in the corner as an enormous bug, snapping with blue energy, buzzed ominously. Suddenly, it darted forward, causing all three Crusaders to scream at the top of their lungs and duck; the bug missed all three fillies by a hair. The three galloped away from the corner in a panic.

Applejack had seen enough. She grabbed the filly-sized table in her mouth and threw it with all her strength. Without her Earth pony magic, her throw was not as strong as it once was, but years of applebucking nevertheless gave her enviable results as the table smashed against the wall and the bug, breaking into splinters.

"Applejack!" came a distraught cry. In the next moment, Applejack was bowled over by two sobbing fillies, one yellow with a bow in her hair and the other white with a horn on her head. Scootaloo had instead chosen Rainbow Dash as the target of her tears and was currently sobbing into a cyan foreleg.

"It flew in through the window an' started chasing us!"

"I hit it with my book and nothing happened!"

"It was HORRIBLE!"

"Now, now," Applejack told the pair of fillies sobbing into her mane. "S' all right you three, s' alright, we're here, we're here now..."

Beside her, Rainbow had a wing wrapped around her own filly and was whispering her own reassurances.

The pile of kindling buzzed.

Applejack was back on her hooves in an instant. "Get to th' house. Run!"

Three fillies barreled down the ramp at a panic driven pace and galloped as fast as their little hooves could take them towards the farmhouse. Behind them, Rainbow Dash and Applejack ran side by side, ensuring the fillies were safe.

The insect, snapping with an angry red energy, buzzed its wings and gave chase.

Both adults heard the buzzing. Applejack looked back just in time to duck as the insect dive bombed her. It came back for another pass at her, forcing her to roll to dive sideways to avoid it. A third attack forced her to abandon her run to the house as the insect hovered menacingly in her path.

"Rainbow, get Applebloom an' her friends to the house!" she shouted at the pegasus, who had stopped uncertainly as the fillies continued to run.

"But-"

Applejack dodged another attack run from the angered insect. "Don't you go arguin' with me now! Get them to the house an' let Mac know to start boardin' up the place! Now git'!"

Applejack didn't wait for an answer- she didn't have time, what with the maddened insect attempting to latch on to her face. She ducked and dove, dodging left and right- her rodeo skills came in very handy in staying one step ahead of the irate bug- making her way to the barn. Applejack dashed into the wooden structure and slammed the doors shut, breathing heavily. There was a thump, and Applejack felt her hooves slide against the ground, but the doors held. She breathed a sigh of relief.

_Now t' get rid of that varmit fer good._

Applejack skipped the small can of bug killer they had on hoof- the can was only about half the size of the bug that was still attempting to get into the barn! No, she needed something big enough, hard enough, to smash through that bug's carapace. Her eyes lit upon the sledgehammer on the tool rack.

"Watcha doin'?"

Applejack let out a startled scream and swung the long-handled sledge at the sound. Air, barn door, multicolored mane, barn door-

Applejack rolled her eyes as she arrested the momentum of the tool in her mouth.

"Hey, watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"Rainbow Dash, I thought I told you to git yourself into that house and stay there!"

"Hey, I wasn't about to leave my best friend hangin'! Besides, you never said ANYTHING about staying there, you just said get them to the house and tell Mac some stuff."

"An' did you?"

"Of course! You know how awesome I am, AJ!" Applejack just rolled her eyes.

"Sugarcube, I've got me a bug that needs smashin', so if you don-"

_Wait. Where is it?_

"Uhh… you alright there Applejack?"

"Did you see where that bug went, sugarcube?"

Dash shook her head. "Last I saw it was chasing after you."

"An' last I heard it was tryin' to break down these here doors," Applejack said cautiously.

"So…. where'd it go?" Rainbow asked slowly as she glanced around suspiciously. Applejack grabbed the sledgehammer as she looked for the missing equicidal insect.

The ground at their hooves exploded upwards in chunks of earth and a sparking-red bug.

"HOLY HORSEAPPLES!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She jumped into the air with a beat of her wings, and even though they did no good for flying anymore she still hit her head on the barn door frame.

Applejack was just as startled as Rainbow, rearing her front legs and whinnying in fear. Then she remembered she had a sledgehammer in her mouth. She grinned and put all her strength into the blow.

The hammer swung in a deadly arc, perfectly leading the angry insect as it charged her, and hit with a metallic ring.

The next moment, Applejack was on the ground, her eyes spinning. Grabbing her head, she forced her eyes straight, and wondered why her jaw ached so much. A glance at the sledgehammer showed her why.

The metal sledge head was cracked and split down the center, along with a good chunk of the wooden handle.

Before her on the ground, the bug struggled to right itself, extremely annoyed but clearly unharmed from a blow that should have thoroughly smashed it.

With a buzz, it righted itself. It was no longer sparking red, it was glowing red. Applejack struggled to get to her hooves. It buzzed into the air, then darted forward- all Applejack could do was stare stupidly.

"Watch out!"

Rainbow Dash tackled Applejack, causing the insect to miss once again. Both ponies scrambled to their hooves and shot out of the barn at breakneck speed.

"What happened?!" Rainbow demanded.

"It broke my hammer!"

"WHAT?! How?!"

"I don't know!"

"Well that's just great! What do we do now?!"

As the pair raced around the barnyard at frantic speed, Applejack had to admit she didn't know what to do. That insect had been smashed by a table, then taken a sledgehammer without even blinking. As a matter of fact, the only thing that had really given it pause was the barn doors…

Applejack chose to ignore how it was stumped by a door after taking a sledgehammer and just run with it. Fortunately, she had the perfect place to shut the little bugger up.

"Dash, this way!" she called, veering hard to the left. Rainbow was right behind her. The glowing red insect buzzed after them.

"We got a storm cellar over here," she explained as they galloped. "Yer gonna open th' doors, ah'm gonna lead it into the cellar, then we're gonna slam the doors shut before it can get back out, got it?"

"Got it!"

Rainbow Dash bowed her head and ran. She instinctively beat her wings, and with that little bit of effort pulled ahead of her friend just far enough to carry out the plan. She hit the cellar doors and used that momentum to pry up one side enough for a pony to enter.

No sooner was the door open than Applejack barreled through it, rushing full tilt into the storm cellar with the abominable insect hot on her tail. Half a second later she was out- her rodeo skills were getting a real workout today. Rainbow slammed the door and both ponies leaped upon it.

The insect hit the door hard enough to jar them, but not enough to escape- it was trapped. If they could keep it that way.

"Rainbow, hold it shut!" she told her friend before darting away.

"WHAT!?" She was interrupted from screaming more at her friend by another thump against the door, jarring her. Another thump almost threw her off.

"Oh no you don't!" Dash threw herself against the storm doors.

"Move!"

Applejack slammed a plank of wood through the door handles. A moment later, another thump tested the integrity of the makeshift lock.

It held.

Applejack let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Heh… heh heh heh…"

Once Rainbow started laughing, neither could stop- sheer adrenaline made it impossible. The two fought to keep from rolling on the ground as their sides stitched with laughter.

"Heheheheh heh heh … landsakes, I think I needed that," Applejack finally said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Meeee too," Rainbow agreed with a grin on her face. The storm door thumped again. They both ignored it.

"C'mon, we need to get the girls together," Rainbow said. Applejack shook her head.

"Firs' things firs', Dash. I need to make sure 'Blooms all right, then help Mac board up the house. Then we can go an' get our friends," she stated, turning for the house.

"But AJ-"

"Ain't changin my mind, sugarcube. C'mon, it'll get done faster if ya help me."

Rainbow swore under her breath, but set off at a fair trot for the farmhouse.

* * *

Ponyville was deserted. In a town that somehow saw catastrophes every month, the populace was quite keenly aware of what their response should be in an emergency situation. That response was 'go inside and bunker down until the Element Bearers sorted it all out'. While Twilight would have normally prefered if they did something useful, or at least something rational, right now she was thanking Celestia that the response of the townsponies was to hide.

Because that meant that none of them were outside with the monsters.

They were big, black, lanky, and dangerous looking. Flat-faced as though they had run into a wall, covered in tattoos, some of which glowed a menacing red, the creatures were larger than even Princess Celestia. But that wasn't the worst part.

No, the worst part about these creatures was that _they weren't in a single one of the books she had on mythical creatures in her library!_

And she should know! She'd memorized all the dangerous ones after the incident with the cockatrice. She even had them all on a list- _List of Dangerous Creatures to Avoid_- and THEY WEREN'T ON THERE!

On the bright side, this also meant that they must be a new species and that she would be the first to document them! So while Spike ran around the library compiling all the monster books he could find in, Twilight studied them.

From a distance.

Through her telescope.

Poked through the curtains.

Both Spike and Twilight had agreed the moment those things had come into town that they weren't going near them unless Spike was a giant dragon AND Twilight was an alicorn. Or she had her friends to back her up. Preferably the latter. Though the latter with the former would be even better. In the meantime, magicless Twilight would lay low, study the monsters, and find some way to defeat them. She turned away from the telescope.

"Spike?" she whispered. "Have you found anything?"

"No, nothing," he whispered back, flipping through the book with his claws. Something Twilight envied right now. "And this is the last book, too."

"Even _Mysterious Monsters of Myth_?" There were only thirty copies of that book ever made- the only reason she had one was because Celestia had gotten it for her when they had been studying the creatures of Tartarus.

The young drake nodded his head.

"By the way, don't go upstairs. There's some sort of huge bug in our bedroom."

Twilight sighed. She couldn't say she was surprised, not after seeing similar insects flying around Ponyville. She considered herself fortunate that the door between the public part of the library and her bedroom was normally closed- she shuddered at the mere thought of meeting one of those bugs up close. She'd studied one through her telescope and that was as close as she was willing to go.

"Twilight?" She turned to her number one assistant.

"What are we going to do, Twilight?" The baby dragon looked tired and scared. It broke Twilight's heart to see him like that.

"Come here, big guy," she said with a tired smile. Once he waddled over, she wrapped the little drake up in a great big hug.

"Now, I know this is all scary, but I'm here for you, okay? I promise I won't let anything hurt my little assistant," she nuzzled. The little drake burrowed deep into her hug.

"Pinkie Promise?" He asked, muffled by purple fur.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she told him softly. "Celestia will send help. Then me and my friends will use the Elements, and this will be nothing more than bad dream. So you be brave, alright?"

"Ok Twilight."

She nuzzled him one last time, nipping lightly at the spines on his head. "Good! Because I need my Number One Assistant to take some notes for me!"

"Right! I'll go get some parchment!"

While Spike was off getting parchment and a quill, Twilight reflected on her situation. Of the fears she herself held. For Spike's sake, she put on a knowing front, but deep down… she was just as scared as he was.

Celestia hadn't gotten their message. Even if she did send help, there was no guarantee they could get there- having studied the wall closely, she saw no cracks, no flaws, nothing that could be used against it. Given that help hadn't already arrived, it must have been able to block magic as well. And to block off the entire Everfree, it must have taken as much energy as Celestia and Luna combined! The only thing that could stop this, whatever it was, was the Elements.

But the Elements were in Celestia's hooves, outside the wall.

Even inside the wall, she couldn't get to her friends. The creatures outside- they were too fast, and too aggressive. She had watched one of those giant bugs fly into Cherry Blossom's house. Moments later, Cherry came tearing out. The monsters saw her immediately, and chased her with unnatural speed. Only the fact that she was going across the street at a full gallop saved her- those things were fast! But they also only seemed to go after ponies that showed themselves-

"Ready!"

Twilight shook her head, then arranged her thoughts. As she began to dictate them to Spike in a precise and organized manner, she wondered how they were going to get out of this situation.

* * *

_Deep within the corrupted Everfree, the light above the spring flickered as it struggled to maintain conscious thought. It had failed; the dark magic of old now held this land by the throat, twisting and corrupting the creatures within. The ponies, which it had watched over for so long, were embroiled in a battle that they were unaware of, indeed, should never have been aware of. After all, that was the purpose of setting this spring so far in time and space from the others; then, if evil returned, it would not be able to reach the final spring to complete its domination over the land._

_Obviously, this logic had been flawed. Now, powerless, deposed, the light held on to the consciousness that would be so easy to let go. It had hope, as dim as it seemed. Darkness had ruled at times in the past. But it had always been beaten back, even when it appeared evil had won and all hope was lost. A Hero would appear. It must. Such was fate. And so it waited._

_Out of the woods slunk a ghostly figure. A wolf, lithe and powerful, standing nearly as tall as a pony, emerged from the underbrush around the spring. The wolf had black fur, with a white underbelly that spilled out slightly on his sides and up over the shoulder in a whorl, and a shaggy section of longer dark fur about the head and neck that could be mistaken for a mane of sorts. An intricate pattern of white fur adorned the wolf's head, unusual and beautiful in its own right. Fixed around the left forepaw was an iron cuff, with a small length of chain attached that clinked softly every so often. Blue eyes, wild and powerful, fixed themselves on the ball of light._

_On the wolf's back rode a small impish creature, black with a white underbelly and face. Green patterns traced across the small creatures' arms and legs, glowing brightly in the twilight. It wore a stone crown of sorts, broken, partially covering one eye. The other was unnatural, with a red pupil and yellow sclera. An orange thing flowed behind her, almost like hair… yet not. A grin with a single snaggletooth fang adorned its face as it sat bareback upon its mount._

_The wolf padded to the edge of the spring and sat, black and white tail flicking every so often. The light could not smile. But it knew._

_The Hero had come._


	4. Tears

Hey everyone!

So, if you're reading this, you probably like it. Well, I have good news for you. I am currently still writing the story, true, but there are actually MORE chapters up on Fimfiction at this time than here on .

Sooooo... go check it out on , and I'll keep posting the finalized chapters here on fanfic until I catch up!

* * *

Deep within the Everfree lived a pony the likes of which were rarely seen in Equestria. Neither Earth pony nor pegasus nor unicorn, the Zebra shaman known as Zecora lived within a hollow tree, where she had ready access to some of the most magically active and rare plants in the world for her potions.

Of course, living in the most dangerous forest known to ponykind meant one had to be quick on their hooves. Zecora was no stranger to the dangers of the Everfree. She knew how to avoid hydras and manticores; how to fight off the timberwolves that would sometimes stalk her; how to ward cockatrices away from her home and pathway. She knew, neigh, expected, that dangerous creatures would hound her, but she had prepared herself against such threats.

She had not prepared herself for this.

Zecora, frazzled with stress, kept a close eye on the opposite wall of her small tree home as she quickly dumped the ingredients she needed into the simmering cauldron in the middle. The masks that had once held welcoming and friendly faces now held nothing but terror and-

She started, dropping the ingredients as she hid herself behind her own cauldron. A thrumming buzz came from the wall of masks as the insect, larger than both her hooves together, darted from out from behind a mask. Snapping with blue energy, the insect scuttled to another mask, causing them to rattle ominously. As the rattling died, Zecora warily peeked out from behind the cauldron.

"A more fearful creature I have never seen. Even the timberwolves could not be so mean! Quickly- a dash of thyme and a bit of honeycomb, and soon this abomination will be gone from my home!"

Zecora tip-hooved to get her final ingredients, an ear cocked to track the buzzing of the pest. It was an anti-vermin potion, one of the most potent and rarely brewed; unlike the potions she had spread to discourage insects and mice from taking up residence, this potion killed on contact- insects, mice, rats, it made no difference; if they were pests, it would kill them. Which was, of course, the reason why it was not often used.

That said, her normal anti-vermin potions she kept bottled on the shelves had done nothing more than irritate the beast- it had viciously chased her out of the house when she had tried it the second time, with no better results than the first.

It pained her to have to brew this potion, especially in such quantity, but she could think of no other brew in her extensive list that might defeat this insect.

Zecora carefully added the last ingredients to the cauldron. It was almost done. It had to be allowed to simmer for several minutes, more if she wanted it to be potent. And she needed it to be potent.

For nearly half an hour, Zecora waited, her ears twitching with every rattle of her masks as the bug moved. The potion was nearly complete… when the door to her home opened. Zecora's head whipped around… and saw that nopony was there. Zecora studied this for a few moments, wary, before a buzz brought her back to her senses.

"I must focus on this evil first," Zecora told herself. "Then may I find out if everything has gotten worse."

Buzzing sounded from behind the masks- Zecora backed away, the buzz sounded angry, like when it had begun to chase her.

A _thump_ sounded, hitting the wall- the masks all fell to the floor, revealing the insect. It took off, sparking blue, and headed towards the zebra. Gasping, Zecora scrambled away- but the insect never reached her.

It buzzed suddenly to the side, before quickly charging towards a random open spot in the room. Halfway through, it jumped to the side again, as though avoiding some unseen attacker. It buzzed around inside the tree, high enough that she could not reach it even if she had jumped, as though stalking something.

Zecora kept well clear of the insect, spooked by its strange behavior.

It paused, then charged again towards a random spot in her home.

This time, it did not make it. It was blasted backwards halfway though, as though it had been hit by the Ponyville Express. Falling to the ground, the insect hit, then bounced, and came to a final rest on its back, legs in the air. The legs curled in on themselves before the insect exploded into a blinding light, forcing the Zebra to look away. When she opened her eyes again, it was gone.

Zecora tentatively looked around, expecting it to pop out somewhere like Pinkie Pie. Checking around, she found no sign of it anywhere in her home. Sighing, she began to set the traditional masks of her people back on their hangings.

"I do not know what just happened, but I am so very glad that insect has been flattened."

* * *

Applejack fixed a wooden plank over the window, the sharp sound of a hammer striking nail and wood sounding throughout the house. It was not alone, as Rainbow Dash boarded up some on back while Mac finished the other side of the house.

It was an old farmhouse, built well before Applejack was alive, and was spacious enough to fit the entire Apple family of old- grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, nieces and nephews, all had once had a place under this very roof. The Apple Clan was a bit more wide spread out these days, but the house remained, even though there were only four ponies currently living in it.

That, of course, meant lots and lots of windows that needed to be boarded up.

She fixed another board in place and began to hammer that one in next to the first, boarding up the window to the kitchen. As she hammered, she kept an ear cocked towards the front of the house, where her younger sister Applebloom stood guard with her three friends, watching the storm cellar and the orchards for any sign of movement. A job harder than it sounded; the confounded twilight twisted and distorted shapes at a distance and made it hard to see colors. Still, they had to have at least some sort of warning against more bugs… or the bug breaking free… or anything else that showed its face, and with the set of lungs those three had-

"SIS! COME QUICK!"

Speak of Tartarus. Applejack dropped her hammer like it was on fire and ran to the front porch like demons were nipping at her hooves.

"What is it?!"

"Look!" Sweetie pointed.

The cellar doors were opened, the burning red insect was loose, but… it wasn't coming after them. It was… dancing?

The insect dove left, right, forward and backward, buzzing with a furious intensity. Sometimes it would burrow into the ground… only to burst back up and continue the dance. It was like it was attacking something… but there was nothing there!

"Rainbow, what d' ya make of that?" Applejack asked, scratching her head beneath her Stetson.

"I have no idea," Rainbow swore as the insect dove again. This time, though, it seemed to hit something, as it came to an abrupt stop in front of nothing before flying away again.

It came around for another pass… only for it to be swatted out of the air. For a moment, Applejack though it was just going to right itself again, madder than a nest of yellowjackets… but instead, it keeled over and died! That thing took a SLEDGEHAMMER and kept coming, then something invisible just kicked its flank! What the hay…?

"I get the feelin' we're missin' somethin' here," Applejack muttered.

"Eeeeyup," Mac drawled behind her.

* * *

Rarity Belle, proprietor of the Carousel Boutique, maker of fine dresses and suits, eyed the supply room cautiously as she made her way across her own showroom floor with a rescued dress.

Business had been slow today, so she had been working on a few orders that were due weeks down the line when the… whatever had fallen. The first she noticed was when all the pins and scissors in her telekinetic grasp had clattered to the floor. She had found that she could not pick them up again, or even light her horn. A single look outside had informed her of the most likely reason.

She had been about to head over to Twilight's library, certain the magically inclined student had some theories or a plan (likely a list, knowing her), and had just opened the door when _it_ had happened. A huge bug had buzzed over her head and into her Boutique, eliciting a short scream. When she had turned around, _horror_ awaited her.

A great big, black, ugly insect had invaded her home and landed upon one of her dresses! Worst, it had thrown off the stitching on the incomplete fabric and torn the hemline! It was -gasp- _ruined_!

Before she could regain her wits, the insect had taken off and flown into the storeroom, to her horror. She had rushed over and attempted to shoo the ugly thing out, but an angry warning buzz had made her stop. So she let it have her fabrics, and gems, for now, until she could get her friends to help her chase it out.

She had been about to leave, a second time, when a chance glance through the window had made her re-think such action. Great black creatures, larger than Celestia herself, covered in tattoos, some of which glowed with an eerie light.

The way they moved, they way they looked… unnatural, predatory…. there could be no mistaking their intentions. Going outside suddenly had much less appeal- galloping to Twilight's would mess up her hair and maybe chip her hooves! Oh, and likely get her killed. Mustn't forget that part.

With her only escape gone, trapped in a building with an abomination of an insect intent upon destroying her supply of fabric, Rarity did the only thing she could think of and began to discretely take her dresses to somewhere she considered 'safe'- in this case, her bedroom upstairs. As the insect appeared quite thoroughly happy in the storeroom, things had so far gone well, with many of her stock upstairs. Now, she merely had to rescue her showpieces.

Tiphooving as quietly as she could, she made for the relative sanctuary of her bedroom, laying the work in neat order with the others. Another dress saved! On to the next!

Making quite certain to close the door behind her, Rarity headed towards the stairs once again to save some more of her hard work. She was in the middle of tip hoofing gracefully back down when the bell above her door chimed.

"Wel-"

Rarity caught herself before she could say anymore of her distinctive greeting. Now, who would would have braved the monsters outside to come to her fabulous shop?

A few more quick steps saw her far enough to see the door- open!? Who in their right mind would leave it open with dangerous things roaming the streets!?

Rarity rushed over and shut the door, a ding signaling its close, before turning and sighing with relief.

Who could that have been? She was more than willing to give shelter to any poor soul wandering the streets, but now that she was looking around, it seemed as though nopony had come in.

"Heelllooo?" she called out as loudly as she dared. There was no reply.

A thump from the storeroom startled her and sent her hiding behind one of her own ponyquinnes. She cautiously peeked over her cover... And watched in utter shock as the insect tore out of her room, followed by a ragged cut of forest-green fabric that was floating in midair.

The fabric got closer… closer… then it leapt up at the bug, but the bug dodged. Instead, the fabric headed right for a portable dividing wall- and knocked it down! There was no way her fabric was chasing the bug away! That was something very distinctly real, something pony sized, something invisible. Looking closer at the wall as the fabric once again set off in pursuit of the bug, she noticed claw marks marring the surface.

Something invisible and predatory. She gulped.

She watched as the insect buzzed around erratically, followed closely by the floating fabric and the invisible predator beneath. Right towards the ponyquinnes who were modeling some of her best showpieces.

"No!" she gasped. Her hooves shot to her muzzle as she imagined horrifying scenarios in her head.

The fabric leaped again, no doubt in another attempt to attack the bug, but once again the bug dodged.

Rarity gasped in horror as Fluttershy's Gala dress, something she had managed to convince the mare to loan her as a window article, was hit and toppled by whatever invisible force was carrying the fabric. Moments later, the fabric was flung aside violently, drifting slowly to the floor.

Now there was some invisible predator loose in her Boutique. But, worse than that, Fluttershy's beautiful dress was on the floor! The only thing stopping her from running over to it right that second was where the insect was now.

Her fitting area. With a dress, incomplete, that could not be moved.

A dress for the Pony of Pop herself.

The insect was hovering right over it.

"NO!" she screamed. She could guess what was coming. And she wasn't wrong.

The insect attempted to dodge, but this time it did not succeed. It blasted out of the air as though hit by a battering ram, but Rarity had no eyes for it. Her attention was on the dress.

It did not move. Whatever had been chasing the insect had gone right over it. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. It was quickly followed by panic.

"Oh my goodness!" she rushed over to Fluttershy's dress, ignoring the disappearing insect and the invisible predator. There were more important things to worry about.

She righted the ponyquinne and threw the dress back on, examining it with a detailed eye. Said eye began to twitch.

Across the back of the dress, three slashes ran from one flank to the other.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rarity screamed to the heavens.

Unnoticed by the distraught fashionista, the front door opened and the bell above the door dinged.

* * *

The General surveyed the battlefield with a practiced eye. The enemy was not within her limited range of sight, but the General was not fooled; it was there. Lurking. Waiting. Preparing. Soon, it would attack, and it would lay waste to everything and everyone she loved.

The General clenched the unlit cigar firmer between her teeth. She could not let that happen. She would not let that happen. She had to take the upper hoof; it was time to lead her troops into battle.

General Pinkie Pie, Four-Star General (according to her helmet), sharply about-faced and headed back to friendly territory.

"Private Cake, Private Cake," the General saluted her troops. "Is everything ready?"

Both Cakes, wearing strange bowl-like, acid-green military helmets that Pinkie had gotten somewhere, nodded.

"We've got a little bit of everything. Cakes, muffins, cupcakes, euclairs, pies..."

"Good. Private Gummy, is the party cannon ready?"

The little alligator, wearing a small military helmet of his own, said nothing. Nevertheless, Pinkie seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Yes, that might be a problem. But is it ready?"

The little alligator's eyes flicked two separate ways, then back again.

"Good. Troops, prepare to attack!"

"Pinkie, no smoking around the twins," Ms. Cake said absently.

"Oh, don't worry Mrs. Cake, it's a joke cigar! See?" Pinkie promptly chomped down on the end, only for it to blow up in her face, blasting her hair straight backwards and blowing her helmet off.

From their crib, hastily moved and stuffed into the corner, the twins Pumpkin and Pound giggled. Catching a reflection of herself in a pan, Pinkie giggled too.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake stared for a moment, before shrugging to each other.

With a quick shake of her head, Pinkie's hair was back to its normal, frizzy state. She slapped another four-star helmet on her head (you just never knew when you would need a good helmet, so she kept them handy, hidden in various strategic positions around Ponyville in case of emergency) and grabbed a pair of pies for ammunition. Together, the three ponies, and one alligator, crept from the kitchen to the main dining area of Sugarcube Corner, and took up positions hidden behind the counter. Even the alligator that was riding the a self-propelled party cannon. The Cakes chose not to question.

Pinkie motioned for the others to keep out of sight, then slowly peeked over the counter. She spotted her enemy sitting agreeably still on top of one of the tables. Ducking back under the counter, Pinkie shot the Cakes a series of gestures involving a square, her back stroking through midair, a tube of toothpaste, and a cupcake doing the wave.

The Cakes shared a long-suffering look. Gummy blinked.

Pinkie rolled her eyes before giving some more incomprehensible gestures, this time including some hoof puppets dancing around.

The Cakes shared the look again. Gummy's left eye shifted.

Pinkie facehooved. Sliding across the floor on her belly, Pinkie got muzzle to muzzle with her troops.

"it's on the table over there. I'm going to make a run to distract it, then you throw everything you have at it. Including the kitchen sink- you brought the kitchen sink, didn't you? No? Well alright then, not the kitchen sink, but everything else. Gummy is your backup, if that thing gets near you-blammo! He'll take care of it. Ok, ready?"

Both the Cakes nodded. This was likely the most serious they'd ever seen Pinkie Pie. Not the craziest, that belonged to the Pinkamenia incident, but the most serious. And when Pinkie Pie got serious….

The door creaked open.

General Pinkie motioned for her troops to stay hidden, then peeked over the counter. She was just in time to see the door close. But nopony had entered…

Pinkie ducked back down, pondering this new turn of events. Could the enemy have received reinforcements? This could throw off her cunning plan…

A buzzing was heard. Alarmed, all the ponies stuck their head up.

The insect was off the table now, and buzzing around erratically. What made it strange was that chairs were shifting and tables were getting scratched on a direct path from the door to the bug. The three watched, wide-eyed, as the insect suddenly dodged- and the table behind it was knocked over by some invisible force.

Pinkie's mane exploded outwards, blasting her helmet off.

"Yea! Get 'im! Show 'em the good ol' one-two!" Pinkie shouted. Standing on her hind legs, Pinkie enthusiastically boxed empty air with her hooves.

The Cakes stared at her like she was crazy. Or like she was Pinkie Pie. The only real difference in their mind was Pinkie could be counted on to save the world with her friends as the Element of Laughter. That, and bake a mean batch of cupcakes.

The insect made another dodge in midair.

"Aw, so close! Don't worry Wolfy! You'll get him next time!"

The Cakes quietly crept back to the kitchen while Pinkie continued to shout encouragement to something only she could see.

The great chase ended quickly enough, with the insect being swatted out of midair before bursting into light. When Pinkie looked back, the insect was gone.

"YAY! Wolfy defeated the big mean bug!" she cheered loudly. "Go Wolfy, it's your birthday, go Wolfy, it's your birthday…"

If one listened closely, one could hear a confused whine in the emptiness of the room.

* * *

The monsters had congregated. Right outside her treehouse, there were five- FIVE!- fast, scary, huge monsters milling about. Twilight had locked the door and piled every bit of furniture she owned up against the door to her library. If she had still had her magic, she would have conjured several locks on the door as well, or fused the entire thing into the tree itself! If they saw her… she shuddered to think what would happen.

In the corner of her eye, she watched anxiously as Spike lifted the barest corner of curtain to peek out the window. One second. Three seconds. Six seconds... Too long!

"Spike!" She hissed desperately. "Get away from the window! They'll see you!"

"I think they're a little tied up right now, Twilight," Spike said aloud. Twilight hurried over to her assistant at the window and peeked out. She immediately forgot about berating him.

There was something that looked like a cage just outside her home. Pillars had appeared, covered in red-glowing arcane patterns. Between each pillar, a red semi-shield extended, appearing to trap the monsters. The academic in her eagerly wanted to study this, as it appeared unlike any magic she had ever seen. The more primal, survival oriented side of her noted something else.

Two of the monsters was lying motionless on the ground. The others were congregating around a single point and taking large swipes with their forelegs at... Something, she couldn't see between all the bodies.

Just then, one of them reared onto its hind legs as though struck. It convulsed and batted weakly at its neck area before going limp and falling heavily to the ground. Twilight's critical eye could not find its attacker. Maybe an invisibility spell? But the power and focus required to maintain one meant one couldn't really fight! Or so she thought...

A mind-warping scream tore her from her thoughts. Her hooves went to her ears, but it did not help- it was like it was screaming within her head! Tears leaked from her eyes as she squeezed them shut, desperate for anything to keep her mind from _twisting_. When the scream stopped, Twilight found herself on the floor of her home, with Spike a mere hoovelength away. Crystalline tears leaked from his eyes as well as he panted heavily, no doubt trying to recover from the same ordeal Twilight had just gone through. Reaching out a hoof, Twilight pulled him close to her barrel in an awkward hug on the floor.

"What... was... that..." Spike heaved.

"I don't know... But I don't want a repeat," Twilight shuddered. Slowly she got back to her hooves and peered out the window again.

Wait, weren't there three monsters lying on the ground before?

Only one was down now.

And she could swear it was in a different position!

As she watched, attempting to puzzle out how the monster could have moved if it was quite clearly unconscious, when another monster once again was attacked by the invisible pony and collapsed, unconscious. The last three congregated around a single area- they must have somehow seen through the spell!

Twilight found herself uttering a small prayer to Celestia, praying for the safety of whoever was out there.

With a piercing wail, all three creatures threw their hands in the air, clearly hurt, before collapsing to the ground.

Thank Celestia that's over.

She was about to turn away when, as one, the monsters exploded into inky bits before disappearing into the twilight. Sparkle just stared at where they had once been, wide-eyed. She barely even noticed the columns ascend into the sky and disappear themselves.

"Is… is it over?" Spike asked.

The doors to the second floor balcony slammed open, giving them the obvious answer.

The sudden surge of adrenaline gave Twilight speed the bookish mare never would have imagined. Within half a second she had Spike on her back and was galloping for the cellar. She and Spike were through the door in record time, at least for someone used to opening doors with magic rather than their mouths. Spike slammed the door in panic as soon as they were through, leaving them in the murky light their lives had become.

They both winced as they heard -and felt- a _thud_. Twilight grimaced as her sensitive ears heard the sound of books falling to the floor. But fear stayed her normal impulses. More thumps sounded. Twilight thought she heard buzzing as well, and double checked the lock on the cellar door. With a final few thuds, and the sound of precious books hitting the ground, the library went silent.

After a few minutes of silence, both silently agreed to take a peek. From behind the cellar door, both peeked out as cautiously as they dared. When nothing happened, they risked opening it more.

The library was a mess. Books, precious books, were everywhere. Worse (and the sight brought a twitch to Twilight's eyes) was the fact that a fair few were lying open, face down on the floor. That would damage the spines!

"Twilight?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Twilight turned her head to face her Number One Assistant riding on her back.

"What's going on, Twilight?"

It was a simple enough question. One she would normally be able to answer in a heartbeat, with the notable exception of anything having to do with Pinkie Pie. But this time...

"I don't know, Spike," she sighed heavily. "I just don't know."

* * *

_Deep within the Everfree, the spring began to glow. Every crevice of the spring radiated light, dimly at first, but soon it was as bright as the midday sun._

_The spirit of the spring would have smiled, if it could. The Hero had suceeded. The Vessel had been filled with the stolen Tears, restoring the Guardians' power. No longer did it have to struggle to maintain the barest semblance of form; now, with its power returned, it could return to its full form. It could restore the land, this land it had grown to love, back to its original splendor._

_Power channeled through the waters of the spring, becoming a fountain of light reaching into the murky twilight. It grew, brighter and brighter, concentrating itself, before bursting forth across the sky. The twilight turned to day in the wake of the blinding light. The Walls of Shadow could not stand against the power of the light and shattered, burned away by the power of the Light. Only the area where the Shadow was strongest was able to stand against the might of the Light, and even then it was unable to prevent a return to the normal land._

_The Everfree had been saved... mostly. There was one last task the Hero had to perform, vanquishing the remaining Shadow from this land. With that in mind, the Guardian once again took corporeal form, leaping from the waters to cradle the Light to its belly. At the edge of the spring, a wolf waited._

_"Welcome, blue-eyed beast, to the land of Equestria."_


	5. Mystery

Apologies for the wait, I have been out of town for the last few weeks.

Once again, a further along version is available on fimfiction, under the same title.

* * *

Celestia knew the moment the wall dropped; the Sun was shining on Ponyville again.

She did not even take a door out of the castle, choosing instead to throw open the nearest window she could fit through and fly out, much to the surprise and consternation of her startled guards. She barely even took the time to shout out where she was going. Then she was falling through the air- Canterlot, being built precariously on the side of a mountain, had a more than two thousand foot drop right outside a fair few of the palace windows.

She took a moment to enjoy the sensation of free fall. It was something she and Luna used to do, when they were young and the world was an adventure just waiting to be discovered. Here, in this timeless moment of falling, the adrenaline rushing through her body, Celestia was a giddy young filly again.

Then the moment was over. Celestia spread her wings to their unmatchable full wingspan and caught herself, gliding gracefully out of the fall before turning and climbing. Behind her, the few pegasus guards that had managed to follow her fell further and further behind. There was only one thing in Canterlot that could rival the Solar Diarch's wingspan or speed.

Luna joined her sister as the guards continued to fall further and further behind, now little more than dots in the distance. Flying over the countryside now, faster than the Ponyville Express, the two princesses made for the now re-appeared town.

* * *

Twilight packed her saddlebags as quickly as she possibly could, without even a checklist. Such a thing made her cringe, but time was of the essence; she promised herself she would make a checklist later.

Satisfied, she telekinetically seated them on her back. It was nice being able to do magic again; one never really knew what they had until after they lost it. She had read that same statement many times before, but she had never really appreciated it as deeply as she did now.

"Sppppiiikkke! I'm headed out to get the girls," she called as she descended the stairs. "Spike?" When no immediate answer came, she began to look for her number one assistant.

The library was a mess right now, even more so than when she went on one of her studying binges. She didn't usually move all the furniture around and knock shelves full of books to the ground. Usually.

"Can I come?"

Twilight gave a startled scream and jumped a good three feet into the air as a pile of books right next to her suddenly moved to reveal the little dragon.

"Don't do that Spike!" she admonished him, trying to calm her racing heart. "And not right now. I need to gather the girls. What YOU need to do, my number one assistant, is try to find any mention of that phenomenon we were in."

Spike drooped. "Aw, I never get to do the fun stuff."

Twilight opened the door as she smiled. "You're still just a baby dragon, Spike. I'm sure there will be plenty of excitement and adventu-"

Twilight vanished in a prismatic rainbow and a puff of feathers.

"Wow, I guess you're right, Twilight, that was pretty exciting!" Spike told empty air.

At the bottom of a freshly made pile of books, a rainbow tail and cyan limbs were mixed in with a purple horn and various purple limbs. A moment of struggle, culminating in a bookslide, revealed Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, eyes still slightly unfocused.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle shouted at the pegasus. "What was that for?!"

The cyan mare gave a shake of her head. When she was done, her eyes were focused again.

"TWILIGHT!"

"Yes, Rainbow Dash, I'm right here!" Twilight said testily, crossing her hooves. "And how many times have you crashed into my library now? Spike?"

"Five… Ten… four… fourteen times," Spike counted the tick marks on the scroll on the wall.

"At least it was through the door this time. I think that's a first for you, Rainbow."

Rainbow ignored it all and grabbed Twilights head in her hooves.

"Not important! We need to get the girls, stat!"

Rainbow grabbed her in her hooves and headed for the door, her wings a blur.

"I was about to do that before you crashed into meeeee!" Twilight protested into the distance.

Alone now, the little purple and green dragon looked around at the mess that was the library.

"Right. You head off on another exciting adventure to save the day while I clean up the library. Again. Sounds great to me," he grumbled to himself.

Setting aside his thoughts, Spike picked a book up off the floor and began searching for the proper shelf to place it on.

* * *

The last member of the group to be rounded up was Fluttershy. Twilight and Rainbow had split up to gather the girls, Rainbow heading for Fluttershy as she dropped Twilight off in the center of town. From there, Twilight found a confused yet active apple farmer, an irrepressible pink pony already planning a 'We Survived the Twilight Realm!' party, and a distraught fashionista. However, a brash cyan Pegasus accompanied by a demure yellow Pegasus never materialized. As the four friends closed on the house, they saw the reason why.

Rainbow Dash flew around the house at top speed, attempting vainly to find a way into the small cottage. He appeared to be having little success, mainly due to the fact that the windows had been barricaded and were being viciously defended by various small critters. Her front door, the top half ajar, was guarded by Angel Bunny, who was waving a carrot around as he directed the defenses, and by an irate manticore. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen.

"Twilight! Thank Celestia you guys are-OW!"

A well-aimed acorn from the Upper-Story Squirrel Defense Force pinged off of Rainbow's skull, distracting her enough that she couldn't finish her maneuver and ended up crashing into the ground, right in front of the rest of her friends. She was back on her hooves in an instant, none the worse for wear for crashing into the ground, though an angry welt was forming on her head from the acorn.

"Buckin' squirrels!" she cursed, shooting an angry glare at the window she had been hit from. "They won't let me even SEE Fluttershy! I've tried everything!"

Before them, the manticore hissed, teeth bared and stinger tail waving threateningly. The mares all took an involuntary step backwards at the display.

"I never seen a critter so riled up 'afore!" Applejack said, wide-eyed.

"How are we going to get to Fluttershy now?" mused Rarity.

"I go in and get her," Twilight replied. Her voice held resolve in its tone.

"You can't just walk in there! They won't let you, believe me I've tried!" Rainbow snorted.

"Teleport."

"Oh. Right."

Putting words to action, Twilight's horn glowed brightly, and with a faint *pop*, she was gone.

Twilight re-appeared in Fluttershy's bedroom. Fortunately, before the animal defenders could act, Twilight had found her objective. A pink tail stuck out from under the bed. Twilight managed to duck under just as the first acorns were thrown. Under the bed, she found herself nose to nose with the Pegasus.

"Twilight?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Um, why are you under my bed?"

"We need to get the Elements together."

"S-so that means that weird darkness is gone?"

"Yep! Didn't you notice?"

"It's kind of dark under here. That way I didn't have to see any of the monsters."

"Well, the monsters are gone and we need all the girls together."

"O-oh. Um, couldn't you have knocked?"

"Nope. Angel Bunny organized a defense of your house and wouldn't let anypony in."

"Oh no! I have to stop him!"

Fluttershy bolted out from under the bed. Twilight, glad her friend was no longer hiding from the world and could come help the rest of her friends, scooted out from under the sumptuous bed herself.

"Well, that's done, now to- uh oh." Twilight's pupils constricted to pinpricks- she knew she had forgotten something.

The Bedroom Defense Force moved to defend the yellow caregiver's house from the intruder. As one, the cute and fuzzy creatures of death leapt at their target.

"_AUGH_!"

* * *

"Alright girls, we need to find out what happened, and what to do next."

Twilight led the group from a sitting position. The Squirrel Brigade had been aggressive, severely mussing her mane and tail to and giving her many small scratches and even some bites before Fluttershy had managed to get them to cease their attack. Assurances from Fluttershy that her little friends were only trying to protect her, and yes, she was sure none of them had rabies or any other diseases, equine or otherwise (she made a mental note to double check this with the list she had at home), had staved off retaliation. For now, Twilight was content to begin puzzling out the mystery of what had happened while Rarity fussed over her with a brush.

"Dunno 'bout you girls, but me an' Rainbow didn't see it happen. All we know is some sorta' explosion happened jus' before that darn twilight lifted, right over the Everfree," Applejack supplied. Rainbow nodded in agreement.

"I was baking a cake! Maybe taking the cake out of the oven caused all this? GASP! But that would mean I can't bake triple chocolate cakes anymore, and there's no way anything with triple chocolate in it is bad! Except for maybe ponies who hate chocolate, but who hates chocolate? Besides somepony who's lactose, but even then you don't really hate chocolate, you just hate that you can't eat it and project your hatred onto the cake itself. Anyways-"

"Sugarcube, you actually see anythin' happen?"

"Nope!"

"Right. Rarity?"

"I'm sorry darling, I was in the zone and didn't notice a thing. There, now you look... well, almost presentable," Rarity told Twilight. Her fur still looked mussed, but her mane and tail were back to normal at least. She turned to the last pony.

"Fluttershy?"

"Oh, um, I never actually saw anything... but Mr. Manticore told me something... something _evil_ was happening in the Everfree... and that it would go to Ponyville."

And she had hidden under her bed. Well, Twilight couldn't blame her friend for acting like herself.

"Did he say anything else?" she asked. Fluttershy shook her head.

"No. He didn't even like to talk about it, whenever I tried to ask him he would start shaking. I don't think he knows exactly what it is, all he knows is that its very, very bad."

Twilight thought for a moment, her friends waiting anxiously for her decision.

"We don't know what caused this, or why it stopped. At the moment, all we know is that our best guess is that it originated somewhere in the Everfree, that it brought terrible things to Ponyville, and that something in the Everfree _appeared_ to be the reason it went away."

Twilight sighed.

"We need more information, and I just brought bestiary and magical phenomenon books. We need to research the Everfree, see if there's any precedents for this or if there's anything about the Everfree that can help explain this. We need... a research project!"

A loud groan came from Rainbow.

Twilight ignored her friend. She was beginning to feel excited, the mere prospect of a research project buoying her spirits. Oh, this was going to be so much fun!

"To the Library!"

Fluttershy lived at the edge of the Everfree, but Ponyville was still small enough that it was only a few minutes to her library at full gallop. Twilight was excited, even she had not read every single book in her library, and now she had an excuse to read some new ones. Most of the others ranged from weary resignation to silent contemplation, though Pinkie remained unflappably happy as always. Rainbow was the only one who seemed truly unhappy at their destination- or rather, what she would have to do once they got there. She wasn't keeping it quiet either.

"C'mon Twi, can't we just, ya know, go into the Everfree and check it out? It wouldn't take too long, especially if it was just me! I bet I could figure out this whole mess in under an hour!"

"Too dangerous, Rainbow. We don't know what we'd face. It's already bad enough that it's in the Everfree, but throwing those monsters on top of it? Not good."

"Rainbow, one of those bugs took mah sledgehammer and broke it like it was a twig. What makes ya think you'd fare any better?"

"I'm awesome, duh! Nothing can stop Rainbow Danger Dash!"

"Too late, we're here," Twilight grinned wryly. A groan came from the pegasus. Using her magic, Twilight opened the door.

"Everypony in! We need to start looking for books on the Everfree. I'm sorry the library's in such bad shape, but- Princess Celestia!"

Twilight had been so focused on giving her friends instructions she hadn't even noticed them bowing... or the great big white pony in gold regalia in the room... or the slightly smaller blue pony wearing silver regalia also in the room. Twilight froze.

Celestia smiled at the six mares. "Rise, my little ponies. There is no need to stand on ceremony here," she told them, walking forwards. She smiled gently down at her student for a moment as said student attempted to stammer out a reason why the library was such a mess. Celestia gently cut her off.

"I am glad to see you are alright, my faithful student. Your life, and the lives of your friends, mean more to me than all the books in this world," she said, embracing her student with a wing. Twilight blushed at the contact, but did appear to be less stressed. Celestia gave her a motherly smile.

"When we found the library in such a state, I must confess I thought my student had had another one of her 'episodes'," she told them. Twilight's cheeks burned again, this time from shame more than embarrassment. "Still, Spike told us what had happened, and mentioned that you would likely be coming back, so we decided to wait here for you and start tidying up." She smiled conspiritorially at her student.

"Luna has been spending so much time in the Royal Library, I would not be surprised if she could set all these books back on their proper shelves in her sleep," she whispered to Twilight. A small giggle escaped from both ponies.

"We heard that, Tia," Luna said flatly. Luna ignored the stifled snicker from her sister and turned towards the other mares.

"We are glad to see the Elements," Luna greeted, her formal speech still not fully gone yet. "We feared for the worst when Ponyville was attacked."

That drew a gasp from the six mares. A tiny frown found its way to Celestia's muzzle.

"That was actually an attack, yer Highness?" Applejack asked.

"We cannot be certain yet," Celestia replied diplomatically. "Whatever forces did this have taken our ponies, but it does not appear to have damaged the town nor its inhabitants."

"Sure tried," Rainbow muttered under her breath. Celestia appeared to have heard though, and fixed the mare with an inscrutable gaze.

"My sister and I were blocked by whatever magic covered Ponyville and the forest. We know nothing of what happened here. Perhaps it would be best if we heard it straight from the source. Rainbow, could you tell us what happened to you when the wall was raised?"

* * *

Celestia maintained silence for many long seconds after her student, the last of the six ponies, finished relating her tale.

It was worse than she had thought, better than she had feared. Whatever force had taken Ponyville, and she could not deny now that some faction had clearly done so, had clearly been intent on subjugation, perhaps even murder. That the town had not lost a single pony - her guards had finally caught up with her, and she had asked them to take a census- was nothing short of a miracle. The guards had even found Wind Waker, disgruntled and alone but unharmed, on the road in to the town.

The descriptions of the monsters, and of the giant insects, gave pause. Never in her long, long life had she heard of such things, even from the times when Discord had ruled the world... or when her sister, twisted in her darkness, had made her own creations. The description of their capabilities had her concerned as well. What if they were to come back? From what she now knew, ponies would be hard-pressed to defeat the creatures, even in numbers.

Most disturbing of all was the dissolution of magic when the wall had been up. The loss of ability alone had clearly rattled her student and most of the girls. What they did not know, what they could not know, was just how serious such an event was. A pony was a magical creature by nature; every part of their body was infused with magic. To be without magic meant that Twilight, and all of Ponyville, had somehow 'lost' their bodies for a time, and had become nothing more than spirits.

Celestia pushed such thoughts aside and offered a smile to her student and her friends. They did not need to know her troubles, though she would be enlisting her faithful student to attempt to get to the bottom of this mess.

"Thank you, my little ponies. It may not feel like it, but you have helped me and my sister a great deal by telling us such things."

Beside her, Luna nodded gravely.

Getting to her hooves, Celestia stretched her wings-even a god was prone to the aches and pains of sitting for too long. She looked right at her faithful student, anticipating the reaction to come.

"Twilight. The phenomenon was not a natural event, of that much I am certain. That being said, I can tell you that events such as these have never been seen before in Equestrian history. If we are to counter this, we must first understand it."

Twilight's eyes lit up in understanding. Celestia smiled, and said the words her student was waiting to hear.

"My student, you have a new assignment. Find out as much as you can about this phenomenon, and compile your conclusions into a report for me."

It was few the pony that relished being told to write a report, but to her student, Celestia knew that every report was an excuse to bury her nose in a good book. It was a passion Celestia both encouraged and hoped would never dim with age; such passions brought forth the greatest magical and cultural advancements to grace the world, and she had high hopes for her student.

"You can count on me, Princess!" Twilight told her. Celestia gave her a mischevious grin.

"And you girls? Can can I count on you to make certain my student doesn't lock herself in the library?" Celestia asked.

"Of course!"

"Yeppers-peppers!"

"Can do, Princess!"

"Certainly, Princess!"

"Um, if she's alright with it..."

Celestia chuckled. Twilight glared.

"Your friends are most loyal," Luna said with a smile. "Treasure them. Trust them, each and every one of you. Together, you can overcome anything."

"I could not have said it better myself. Come, my sister. Duty calls. We should leave my student to her studies. My thanks for your hospitality, Twilight, and to all of you for help. If anything should happen, let us know," Celestia said, turning for the door. Luna followed at her side, and Celestia let them both out, closing the door behind her.

Outside, a Royal Chariot awaited- no doubt at her guard's beckoning. Celestia was thankful for the thought though, as it meant time with Luna, time they could discuss this in private. The sisters boarded the carriage and the hitched pegusi began to pull, lifting the carriage off the ground in a matter of moments and heading towards Canterlot. With a few quick spells, Celestia ensured they would not be overheard, and that they could hear each other.

"Most disturbing, sister," Luna said with a deep frown. "I do not like leaving Ponyville alone. This could happen again at any time."

"Yet we have no way to combat it, sister. Leaving yourself, or myself, or even Cadence in Ponyville would likely only make another event even more devastating, especially since we have no hard evidence as to what caused it, or even how it was restored back to normal."

"I feel another party has made itself known, sister. One who takes issue with the evil in the Everfree."

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Pinkie's invisible wolf?"

Luna nodded."I am not convinced that it was a hallucination on the part of Laughter. She may be a trickster, but I do not believe she would exaggerate something like this. And what of Rarity's phantom predator? A wolf would fit nicely, would you not agree? And if there, then why not at Applejack's farm, or in Twilight's house as well?"

Celestia frowned. There were too many unknowns here. The wolf, the event, the unknown monsters, the lingering, faint sense of evil around the forest and town; it all was a deadly mystery, one she wished she did not have to solve.

Still, she had faith in her student. Twilight, with the help of her friends, would be able to figure this out.

She hoped.

* * *

_The wolf padded around the area in silence, sniffing carefully as he attempted to find the entrance to the lair. His nose led him in circles, a myriad of scent trails criss-crossing back and forth, before coming across a hole in the soft dirt._

_The Guardian had told him where to find the location of the evil, and find it he had. Now, he needed to retrieve the Fused Shadow and lift the taint from the land once and for all._

_The wolf leapt fearlessly down into the black depths._


	6. Interlude

_The wolf padded quietly along through the jungle, ears cocked and alert. He had indeed found the lair of the next piece of Fused Shadow, but had been unable to gain full entry into the lair. Unable to bypass the obstacle, the wolf had decided to explore, hoping to find something that could help him in his endeavors._

_It was night now, but that did not bother the wolf. He had other senses to see for him, his nose following the trail he had used to get. The moon was particularly bright tonight as well, casting silvery rays onto the land below; while not particularly bright, it did allow the wolf a decent amount of sight as he jogged through the forest._

_A growl caused the wolf's ears to prick up. Facing the source, the wolf bared his teeth as three creatures rushed at him from the undergrowth, growling and snarling at him as they surrounded him._

_They looked like wolves. About as large as he was, they were nevertheless quite different. These wolves appeared to be made from gnarled and blackened tree branches, sporting moss and leaves for hair and crackling like dead wood with every step they took. Soulless red eyes stared at the wolf as he crouched, ears pricked to listen as the wolves circled._

_The wolf to his left rushed in, hard wooden fangs bared to bite into soft flesh. The wolf heard._

_The wolf charged back, surprising the wooden wolf. In that crucial moment, the wolf leapt, teeth bared, paws extended. The wolf hit the wooden wolf with the force of a runaway carriage. There was a sickening *crack*, and the wooden wolf simply collapsed. The red eyes faded, and in the next moment, there was nothing but a pile of wooden twigs and branches on the ground._

_The wolf turned sharply and darted away as the second wolf, attempting to use the attack as a distraction, closed its wooden jaws mere inches from his tail. The wolf ignored it and headed for the third, who was now closing as well. He growled and snarled at his target, managing to cause it to pause for a fraction of a second from the sheer ferocity it contained. It was enough. Another pile of blackened twigs and branches joined the first._

_The third was hot on his tail. The wolf dodged, just missing the snapping wooden fangs. The wolf turned on his own tail and went for the throat, closing his own fangs in the wooden neck._

_The wooden wolf yelped and attempted to struggle flee, scratching with wooden claws, but the wolf held fast and pushed forward, keeping the wooden wolf off balance. Twigs and branches splintered as the wolf bit down. With a jerk, the wolf tore out the wooden throat. The wooden wolf fell to twigs in front of him._

_The wolf spit the twigs and branches out from his mouth and continued at a light jog down the path, ears perked for any other dangers this forest could throw at him. _

_The wind picked up, and a faint whistling sound reached the wolf's ears. The wolf perked up immediately, head swiveling as he attempted to find the source. Another small gust caused an ear to swivel, and the wolf set out towards the sound._

_He came upon a small clearing in the forest. In the center, the wolf found a stone, standing slightly taller than he. Through the center of the upper part was a hole, clear through the stone. Around it were markings, triangles facing outwards on top, a raised section around the hole, and a single prominence pointing downwards. It looked like a radiant eye, shedding a single tear. From the hole, a tune came, a whistling from the wind that rose and fell in pitch, almost like a song. A lullaby._

_The wolf sat, eyes closed and ears perked, listening to the tune._

_Then, he began to howl._

* * *

Applejack shot awake in her bed, her ears twitching.

Her window was open to the cool spring air, and through the opening a chilling sound came. A wolf howl. A-

* * *

-single, solitary wolf howl. It rang through the night, loud and clear, as Fluttershy stuck her head out of her window. It was coming from the forest, and it may have been far away, but she could nevertheless hear it-

* * *

-clearly. Rarity, her mane in curls and a sleeping cover hiked just over her horn, listened to the haunting sound.

The howl changed pitch. Then it did again. And again. A tune formed. Rarity frowned, her mind attempting to puzzle why a wolf would howl a-

* * *

-lullaby. Twilight listened out her window, Spike beside her. The tones of the howl were familiar; it was the same basic tune that Celestia had sung to her a few times when she was younger, an ancient tune said to rival the age of the Princesses themselves.

As haunting as the sound was, Twilight nevertheless found herself listening intently. It should have been a fearful omen, but instead, it was just… beautiful.

* * *

_High above the world, on a stone pillar that extended out of nothing, the black and white wolf finished the song._

_Set against a starry backdrop with a large, silvery moon, the wolf found himself high above a forest- the one he was in, he supposed. To the south, a desert sprawled out. To the east and west were oceans, with woods a plentiful in between and hints of buildings in the distance. To the north was a solitary peak, a marble-white city built precariously into it, waterfalls flowing down and glittering in the moonlight, with a city that appeared to be made of clouds just off to the side. Below was a town, small and simple, with a homey feel to it._

_Across from him, on a mossy stone just like his own, a golden spirit wolf let the last notes of the duet fade away. The only sound, high above the world, was the panting of the ethereal wolf, echoing through the night._

_Excited, the flesh and blood wolf circled once before he managed to force himself to calm down, standing expectantly on all fours. The golden wolf regarded him with an implacable stare from a single red eye._

"_**Let teachings of old pass to you… gather your courage and find me."**_

_The golden wolf sprang forward, vaulting off the ledge and disappearing down onto the world. Around the wolf, the world faded away as though blown by an invisible wind. In the end, he found himself in the clearing once again._

_The wolf was still, gathering his thoughts. Then he set off at a light pace, a new destination in mind._

_He headed towards the small village at the edge of the forest, the one he had vanquished a number of Shadow Insects from._

* * *

_On the side of the path towards the town, no more than twenty feet from the abrupt edge of the forest, an ethereal golden wolf sat, waiting._

_The black and white wolf padded slowly out of the forest, eyeing the town to see if there were any witnesses. There were none. It was late into the night right now, most of the inhabitants of the village were asleep. Those who weren't were not outside, the recent howling having spooked them- one did not live close to a forest such as the Everfree without being cautious._

_The wolf padded slowly towards his golden counterpart, wary. He knew what was going to happen, and just because it was necessary did not mean he had to like it._

_A few steps closer, and the golden wolf growled. It got to its paws, ready to attack as it continued to growl threateningly. The black and white wolf growled back but did not approach further, front legs splayed and low to the ground, ready for anything._

_The golden wolf darted forward and leapt at his flesh and blood counterpart. The black wolf entertained the thought of attempting to dodge, but decided against it. Not that it would have mattered. Before the wolf could move a muscle, the golden wolf was upon him… passing through him…_

_His vision swirled as the wolf lost consciousness._

_The wolf awoke on a white plain. Fog surrounded a single clear area, allowing only glimpses of what lay beyond- one could see the tops of a castle, occasionally, or houses. Shaking his head to clear his senses, the wolf got to his paws._

_Sitting in front of him was the golden wolf, the single red eye watching as the wolf got to his feet. Satisfied, the golden wolf threw back his head and let out a howl. Engulfed in blinding white light, the golden wolf disappeared- in its place was something new._

_Standing tall on two legs was a creature never before seen in Equestria. Covered in battle-worn golden armor that appeared to have vines growing on it in places, carrying a hand-and-a-half sword in his left hand and a large metal circular shield in his right, the figure before the wolf could not be mistaken for anything but a warrior. His helm, one of the three horns broken off, covered a ghostly face from which a single red eye silently watched._

_The Hero's Spirit seemed satisfied with what he saw._

"_**We meet again,"**__ the Spirit's voice boomed. __**"You have become stronger since last we met. You are on the path to becoming the hero that is needed. But your progress has been halted. You need a new skill to continue forward."**_

_The wolf nodded. Then he looked himself over, as though he did not expect to look like this. The Spirit noticed._

"_**The skill I will teach you now is not a sword technique, and is indeed most potent when one is a beast. It is not an attack, and will cause no lasting damage to any opponent. Yet of all the skills I have taught so far, this may be the most important."**_

"'_**A sword has no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.' No matter your skill with a blade, you cannot damage a foe if you do not attack it. For that reason, your mind is just as important as the sword that you wield in a battle. You must treat it as such, as both a weapon to be honed... and as a vital resource to be guarded. You armor your body to defend against physical attacks; so too must you armor your mind, to defend against mental attacks. This is the next skill you need: the**_** Mentality of the Warrior**_**."**_

"_**The most common attack against a warrior's mind is fear. Some of your opponents will attempt to manipulate your emotions, creating a fear so great that the warrior flees the field in defeat. To combat this, you must focus your courage and steel your will against such attacks."**_

_The Spirit sheathed his sword in a single fluid motion. In his now empty hand, a green glow began to form._

"_**I will attempt to generate fear within your mind. Use your skills to force it out."**_

_With no warning, the green ball flew from his hand and struck the wolf. The wolf collapsed to his belly, fighting against nausea. When he opened his eyes again, the Spirit was… distorted. It was growing taller, larger, by the second. The mouth doubled, then tripled in size, razor sharp fangs replacing normal teeth. The armor grew sharp, as much a weapon now as protection. Through it all, the red eye glared, unceasingly, watching its prey writhe on the phantom ground…_

_The wolf closed his eyes, forcing the image out of his head. It was not true. And there was nothing that could force him to believe otherwise. He repeated this mantra in his head, his eyes closed, as he got to his paws. His lips pulled back into a growl, and he opened his eyes once more to find the Spirit, completely normal, standing before him._

"_**Well done. It certainly appears you are capable of learning my lost art,"**__ the Spirit nodded, satisfied. __**"This technique is also useful in shrugging off magical attacks that affect your body. By taking your conviction and forcing it through the rest of your body, any foreign magics will be forced out as well. Indeed, it is even possible to affect the magic a short distance away from your body using this skill. We shall try it now. I will lift you using magic. You must escape."**_

_The Spirit's hand cupped, as though holding a bowl, then raised it into the air. The wolf was momentarily startled when he rose along with it. Concentrating, the wolf gathered his courage and will and forced them through the rest of his body. A slight blue sphere formed around him as the telekinetic field dissipated, dropping the wolf a foot to the ground. He stumbled slightly, but recovered into an attack position._

_The Spirit nodded. __**"Very good. The next hidden skill,**_** Mentality of the Warrior, **_**has been passed on!"**_

"_**Do not relax your vigil. There are still more skills for you to learn, and you shall need them all in order to save the land from darkness. We will meet again, hero."**_

_The white around them faded, and the wolf suddenly found he could no longer keep his eyes open. The wolf passed blissfully into unconsciousness._

* * *

_The wolf awoke at the edge of the Everfree to a pounding headache. As much as he enjoyed and needed the guidance of the Hero's Spirit, it was not pleasant to wake up from it. Staggering to his paws, the wolf shook his head violently in a vain attempt to clear it. It would not go away._

_Tired and with headache, the wolf decided that he needed rest before he went back to the dungeon. Combing through his mind, the wolf decided that the best place would be the farmhouse he had cleared one of the bugs from. The spirits there had seemed like good, honest folk, much like most of the friends he knew from his home._

_He could sleep in the barn without raising concern, he was sure._


	7. Wolf

Hope you're enjoying the story, people! Without further ado, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Applejack woke before dawn, as was necessary all year round. Farm life never stopped. There were chores that needed doing before breakfast.

She kicked her blanket off and headed, bleary-eyed, for the bathroom. She turned the water in the shower for her customary quick rinse, the ice-cold water waking her up before turning warm enough to relax her muscles and soothe her aches.

Fifteen minutes later, Applejack was toweled off, dry, and almost ready to face the day. Opening the door, she left the bathroom just as her brother opened the door to his room. The two siblings exchanged greetings as Applejack headed towards her bedroom and Macintosh entered the now vacated bathroom.

In her room, Applejack grabbed a brush and tamed the frizzy mess her blonde mane and tail had become when she had toweled it off. While she was nowhere near as prissy as her good friend Rarity, and cared relatively little if she had to get it dirty, Applejack was still a mare and took time to maintain her appearance. Idly, she brushed it into an elaborate little coif, as she had seen her Aunt Orange do, and had indeed even done for little Applejack a few times.

She examined herself in the mirror, slipping back into the dignified posture of a Manehatten socialite. The mare in the mirror looked regal almost, noble. Sophisticated. Dignified. She gave a smile and let her hair down, the socialite in the mirror disappearing, replaced with the farmer. As pretty as she looked with her hair like that, with her back straight and her expressions hidden, it wasn't her. She wasn't some high-society mare, like her Aunt and Uncle. She was Applejack, farmpony. Rarity and the nobility could keep their fancy hairdos and their etiquette lessons and overpriced food; she had everything she could ever want, right here on the farm.

Applejack brushed her mane and tail until they flowed straight, then tied them off with a pair of hair bands near the ends. Wouldn't be winning any beauty contests that way, but then, she didn't care. Farm work didn't care how beautiful you were, only that you had the strength to do the job. Her mane and tail style was quick, easy to maintain, and wouldn't get in the way when she was buckin' or doing her other chores.

Ready for the day, Applejack set her Pappy's hat on her head and headed out the door. In the hall she met Mac and fell easily into step with the red stallion. Together, the two of them descended the stairs and headed out into the pre-dawn. Stepping off the porch, they split their separate ways and headed off to do their chores.

An hour later, Celestia's sun now high in the sky, the two siblings returned to the house for breakfast.

Granny Smith, with help from young Applebloom, had prepared a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, hash browns and hay bacon for the Apple family. Together, the Apple clan, Ponyville branch, sat down at the old dining table for breakfast, plates piled high with food. One quick prayer to Celestia later and the food was disappearing at a prodigious rate.

"Mac, you hear anythin' last night?" Applejack asked.

Big Macintosh took a big swallow of milk before answering. "Nnnoope."

"I did Applejack!" Applebloom said excitedly. "I woke up and there was this timberwolf, just howlin' his heart out somewhere! First I was scared, but then it started to sound like that lullaby you always sing to me when I can't get to sleep! It was so cool!"

Applejack scowled around her haybacon. So she hadn't been dreaming last night.

"Mac, I need you to check the fence along th' Everfree. I heard that howlin' last night too, an' I don't want whatever was doin' that payin' us a visit. Betsy an' the other cows would darn near have heart attacks if some timberwolf up and came near them," Applejack said with a scowl.

"Okay, AJ," Big Mac replied before lowering his muzzle back to his plate.

Applejack eyed her younger sister warily. Applebloom was a good Apple, and she knew the dangers of the Everfree better than most, having lived next to it her whole life. That being said, she and her best friends had yet to find their Cutie Marks, and had an alarming tendency to try to find them in the most dangerous ways possible. And if it wasn't inherently dangerous, they often made it dangerous somehow. This excitement was all well and good, but it was a miracle she and the other Crusaders hadn't been injured yet; she didn't want them chasing after something that could actively kill them; they had enough danger as it was.

"Applebloom?" she asked. She waited until her younger sister had swallowed and turned to look at her.

"You remember what I've told you 'bout not goin' in the Everfree, right?"

"Of course!" she replied, indignant.

"Well whatever's happenen' around here is comin' from the Everfree. So I don't want to hear you an' your friends have done somethin' dangerous now, ya hear?"

Applebloom rolled her eyes. "Yes, Applejack."

Applejack wasn't completely mollified- Celestia knew those girls did the dumbest things sometimes, looking for their Cutie Marks- but she was at least satisfied Applebloom would give their next little crusade a deeper thought than normal.

Ducking her head back to her meal, the four ponies continued their idle chatter, discussing and assigning various jobs that would need to be done around the farm. Duty was still relatively light, thankfully, which meant that Applejack might actually have time to run around with her friends and figure out this whole mess with the darn twilight. But for now, she still had chores to do.

"All right, 'Bloom, time to get goin' to school," Applejack told her younger sister. "You go'n get ready while Granny an' I clean up."

"But I heard they were canceling school today 'cuz of all the mess yesterday!" Applebloom whined.

"An' exactly who'd ya hear that from?"

"Scootaloo."

"Uh huh. Well, yer headin' in to school anyways, an' if it's canceled then you can come on home an' help Mac an' I out with our chores."

"Aww, but me an' the girls wanted to get some Crusadin' in after school!"

"Well, you girls can do that too. But I don't want to hear 'bout you playin' hookey from school, ya hear? Now go on, get ready for school," Applejack nudged.

Applejack began deftly clearing the table as her younger sister headed up the stairs to get ready for the day. A few minutes into hoofwashing the dishes, heavy tromping came down the stairs- Big Mac was off. Applejack stuck her head out of the kitchen.

"You be careful near the Everfree, ya hear?" she told him.

"'Course, AJ," came his reply. Pausing only to set his yoke around his neck, Big Macintosh headed out the door.

The skittering clatter of much smaller hooves followed a few minutes later, just as Applejack finished washing the dishes. She left the kitchen just as Granny Smith entered- she'd dry and replace the dishes then putter around the house doing the small but important tasks it needed- cleaning sheets, repairing fabrics, dusting- before starting on to lunch, while Applejack and her brother were out working in the field.

"You ready, Bloom?"

"Yep!"

"Well alright then," Applejack chuckled. Together, the Apple sisters headed out the door and down the road towards the schoolhouse Ms. Cherilee ran, chatting idly with her younger sister as they walked. Fifteen minutes later, Applejack waved goodbye as the school bell rang, standing with the other parents and guardians as they saw their foals off to a good education. Satisfied the youngest Apple was doing her job, Applejack turned and headed into town.

Normally she'd head back to the farm and get working again. Today, though, she had a job in town- she needed to replace the sledgehammer she had broken. At a light trot, she made it to the local hardware store just as he opened his doors.

The proprietor, an older earth pony with spectacles and a greying muzzle by the name of Tool Steel, gave her a friendly smile as she sauntered up to the counter with a new sledge. He knew all the farmers and craftsman in the area, having served as the local hardware shop owner for nearly two decades now, and gave Applejack a warm welcome.

She left a few minutes later a few bits lighter and a new sledgehammer slung across her withers. Trotting through town, she slung out friendly greetings to the ponies she met, none of her friends, but then she didn't expect to see any of them right now. Pinkie was working, Rainbow was probably sleeping, Rarity was likely fussing over the dress she saw get ruined, Twilight was probably in a coma after having a studying binge and Fluttershy was hopefully trying to convince her animals that was fine and didn't need protecting. Applejack shuddered at that last thought- that manticore had looked right angry.

Applejack pushed the thought from her mind as she left the town and returned to the dirt and grasses of Sweet Apple Acres. The ponies she saw were a bit more apprehensive and wary than usual- three guesses as to why. Still, they were going about their business and acting fairly normally. Likely ready to bolt at the drop of a hat, but still, so long as nopony dropped their hat, everything would be fine.

Applejack nosed open the barn and trotted inside, heading for the tool rack. Setting the new sledgehammer on its pegs, Applejack smiled. One job done. Turning around, Applejack head-

_There was something in the barn with her._

Applejack froze.

It wasn't a conscious thought, but nevertheless Applejack knew somepony else was in the barn with her. Worse, something had put her on edge, and she fought a quick battle to go running out of the barn with the heebie-jeebies.

She heard it first, the soft hiss of steady breathing. It was coming from the far corner of the barn, where there should have been nothing but straw. Reviewing her memories of when she came in, she found something out of place- something black.

Applejack turned as quietly as she could. It was all she could do to put her hooves to her mouth to stifle the startled expletive.

Lying in the corner on a bed of straw, curled and looking rather peaceful, was a black flesh-and-blood wolf.

_Oh… my… stars…_

Applejack backed out of the barn as quietly as she could, her eyes never leaving the wolf. She shut the barn door, wincing at the squeaking that now seemed as loud as… well, Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom.

She then put a wood plank through the door, once again making a makeshift lock to keep a creature at bay. Then she took off towards the Everfree fence as fast as her hooves could carry her.

* * *

_The wolf woke slowly. It was easily the most, and best, sleep he had had in days now, and his body was enjoying it. He gave a mighty yawn before flopping back over onto the straw and closing his eyes again._

_The wolf's shadow stirred, then jumped. The wolf's shadow stretched off the wolf, before forming into a small, dark imp creature. Only the bright yellow and red eye held any color other than black, yet the frown on the creature's face was unmistakable._

_It said something in a strange language, stubby little arms on its hips._

_The wolf burrowed further into the warm straw._

_The creature seemed to go into a rant before throwing its little arms up in exasperation. The wolf flicked an ear but gave no other sign it had heard. Frustrated, the shadow creature grabbed a paw._

_The creature tried to coerce the wolf up, punctuating each word with a pull._

_Annoyed and not getting the sleep he had envisioned, the wolf let out a huff and pulled his paw away from the shadow creature, rolling onto his belly and getting to his paws. He turned to face the shadow creature, annoyed blue eyes meeting annoyed red/yellow eye. The shadow creature defiantly put its stubby little arms back on her hips._

_The little shadow imp gave a few satisfied sounds, then it literally jumped at the wolf's paws, becoming nothing more than an ordinary shadow once more._

_The wolf let out another mighty yawn, then splayed his legs forward and backwards in a great stretch, working out the kinks in his muscles. Shaking his head one final time to clear the cobwebs, he headed for the barn doors._

_He tried to nose them open, but they wouldn't budge. Figuring more force was needed, he threw himself against the doors, sinew and muscle straining. A small crack appeared, which he stuck his nose through._

_The wet nose was roughly pushed back inside. The wolf caught a glance of red fur before the door was slammed shut, drawing a startled yelp when it pinched his nose slightly._

_Growling slightly, the wolf backed up, then ran at the door, bashing it with his shoulder. He could hear wood splintering, but it didn't open yet._

_Backing up, he ran again, bashing the wooden door. This time though, it didn't yield. The wolf snorted as he ignored the pain in his shoulder- looks like he wasn't getting out that way._

_Still, this wasn't exactly a prison. It was a barn. There had to be another way out._

* * *

Applejack galloped like her life depended on it. At this point though, it didn't- her brother's depended on it. And the cows, and pigs and chickens and all the other animals on the farm. Having a wolf prowling around, even if it was still locked in the barn, just wasn't a good thing.

Behind her, falling slowly but steadily behind, was a very tired Twilight, a pink pony with a HUGE smile on her face, and a vengeance-seeking Rarity. If there had been more time, Applejack would have gotten Fluttershy too, but she didn't want to leave that wolf on her farm any longer than she had to; of course, nopony could get to Rainbow's house where the layabout was likely still sleeping.

There was something going on here, and that wolf was part of it, no doubt about it now. When Pinkie had told Princess Celestia about the wolf, Applejack had thought her even crazier than normal. Pinkie might be able to do the impossible, but seeing things? Lying? That just wasn't Pinkie Pie. Personally, Applejack suspected stress- Celestia knows how she acted under stress, maybe Pinkie's reaction was to conjure up stuff she could laugh at (Pinkamenia aside- that wasn't stress so much as feeling abandoned). It would certainly explain her first reaction to the trees in the forest when they were heading to defeat Nightmare Moon.

But the wolf… half way to getting Big Mac, before she went for the girls, Applejack realized just what she had inadvertently dropped at her hooves. The wolf was real. Pinkie's wolf was real.

And if half of what Pinkie said was true, it knew what was going on around here.

That meant that if they could capture it, maybe Fluttershy could work her animal charms and they could figure out what this whole mess was about.

If they could capture it. Applejack was confident she and her trusty rope could do it, but she was taking no chances- if that wolf escaped, the cows could very well throw a fit and go on another stampede, not to mention terrifying all the other animals around the farm. But her friends could stop it, even if they were missing two.

Applejack left the others in the dust when she saw Big Mac bracing the barn doors.

"Mac! What happened?!"

"It tried t' get out."

Applejack nodded in concern as the rest of the group caught up.

"Where is that creature?!" Rarity demanded, fire in her eyes.

"In the barn. Now, hold on there Rares," Applejack said, stepping between Rarity and the barn door. "We're not here to kill 'im."

"Of course not! We're going to throw him a party!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing streamers into the air. "A great, big, "Thanks for Saving Ponyville!" party! There'll be cake, and Pin the Tail on the Pony, and-"

Applejack shut Pinkie's mouth with a hoof.

"No, Pinkie, not a party. We're here to capture this critter so we can figure out jus' what's goin' on around here. An' that means it has to be alive, Rarity."

Rarity turned her nose up. "Of course, dear, I know that. I simply intend to register my… displeasure… with the beast for having _ruined_ some of my finest work!"

Applejack rolled her eyes again before grabbing her trusty rope off her back.

"Right. Everypony ready?"

There were two yesses and one yes that turned into a yawn. Poor Twilight had been up all night researching, and it showed in the bags under her eyes. But she was still on her hooves and awake, if barely. Even if she was being dragged along to search for something she didn't think was real.

Rope at the ready, Applejack signaled her brother. He stepped back, allowing them to see the plank- it had splintered and bent, but not quite broke. One good hit would do it though. Twilight and Rarity readied themselves, horns aglow.

Applejack twirled her rope, ready for an angry wolf to come barreling out, then gave Mac the signal.

In one smooth motion, Mac ripped the door open, splintering the wooden makeshift lock.

Nothing came barreling out at them. Only the sights and smells of a normal barn greeted them. Applejack frowned.

She poked her head cautiously around the door. Nothing was there, thought the ladder to the loft was open. Strange.

"Well Applejack? Where is this wolf?" Rarity asked.

Big Mac poked his head in the barn too. "It was here a few minutes ago," he told them.

The sound of splintering wood drew their attention up to the loft of the barn, where the loft doors on the far end had just been slammed open. Applejack gasped and started forward.

She made it to the bottom of the ladder in time to hear the scrabbling of claws on the wooden floor, and saw a dark shape through the cracks in the wood.

Applejack tore out of the barn.

"Mac, don't let it get near the cows!" she shouted as she tore around the side. Startled, he nevertheless complied and took off towards the shelter where the cows were. As she rounded the barn corner, she saw a black shape barreling off.

"C'mon girls, we got a wolf t' catch!"

The four took off after the wolf. It was more than a little strange for them- the only wolves in the Everfree were made of wood, not flesh-and-blood. There were differences, differences that became apparent very quickly.

It was fast as a thief. Put the timberwolves of the forest to shame, and just about every pony Applejack knew too. The only one she could think of that could keep up was Rainbow Dash- Applejack regretted not trying to find the rainbow-haired mare now. The ground-bound group slowly but steadily fell behind as they chased the black wolf through the Acres towards the Everfree.

It didn't even pause as it jumped over the fence and vanished into the forest.

"Horseapples!" she swore as she dropped to a walk. Behind her, Rarity and Twilight greedily sucked in air. Pinkie… well, Pinkie bounced around like she hadn't just run across Sweet Apple Acres.

"I… will… never… do… something like that… ever again!" Rarity declared. "Just look at my coat, all covered in dirt and sweat..."

"The wolf is real," Twilight's voice cut through Rarity's complaints. "And it's not a timberwolf."

"Ah told ya that…"

"I know, Applejack, but seeing is believing," Twilight continued. She looked absolutely terrible, her mane and tail frizzy and mussed, with large bags under her eyes and now covered in dirt and sweat. But her eyes were lit with an inner fire.

"We have to have Fluttershy talk to it. I'll keep researching, but that wolf… if what Pinkie says is true, that wolf could tell us everything."


End file.
